


Strawberry Frapps and the Sweet Envy of Hermit Crabs

by SilkyinaBottle



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Fluff, HQ Rarepair Week, Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-27
Updated: 2020-04-27
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:55:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23879509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilkyinaBottle/pseuds/SilkyinaBottle
Summary: Ennoshita turns back to Kinoshita, putting two hands on his shoulders and massaging gently. Kinoshita feels like he’s being prepped for a boxing match, like Ennoshita’s going to throw him straight into the ring. “Look. Let’s do things this way. If you don’t say something to him today - anythingbesidesyour name and order, I will go up there after you run off and totally expose you.”“Threats,” Kinoshita squeaks. “Love it.”
Relationships: Ennoshita Chikara & Kinoshita Hisashi & Narita Kazuhito, Kinoshita Hisashi/Nishinoya Yuu, Tendou Satori/Narita Kazuhito (mentioned)
Comments: 13
Kudos: 123





	Strawberry Frapps and the Sweet Envy of Hermit Crabs

**Author's Note:**

> For HQ Rare Pair Week day 1, using the prompt "coffee shop".
> 
> I knew I had to use the Forgotten Second Year Trio, and Kinonoya has canon to back it up... but only like four fics?? I had to fix this.

It’s something of a ritual for Kinoshita: wake up, get dressed, head to class, stop by Starbucks on the way, and try to say more than ten words to the cute and contagiously quirky barista he’s been crushing on for weeks. So far, he’s had very little luck. The most he can say in the face of his overwhelming charisma is his name, order, and occasionally a mumbled, “Thank you,” if he’s feeling brave.

He’s just not the sort of person who has presence - the person who lights up a room when they walk in. Instead, he’s the kind of person who clings close to the walls, willingly fading into the background. Normally it’s not an issue. He doesn’t go to parties, doesn’t join any clubs, and generally just sticks with his close circle of friends. But it’s always affected his love life - namely, it’s made it non-existent.

Besides, anybody could tell without even knowing him that Nishinoya - gorgeous, lively Nishinoya, who only existed in the tiny, coffee-scented world of the Starbucks down the street - is exactly the kind of person with a  _ presence.  _ He radiates personality, extraversion, and whatever else it is that makes people want to be your friend. Or  _ more  _ than a friend, in Kinoshita’s case.

“This is pathetic,” Ennoshita says, peering over his shoulder to stare at the offending barista, who was busy scribbling on a cup behind the counter. “It’s just a boy.”

“Easy for you to say,” Narita mumbles, sipping at his soy latte - he’d gotten here early and ordered before them. “You’ve never had to ask out a guy in your life.”

Ennoshita regards him with a weary look out of the corner of his eye. “Yes, because I actually know how to attract men. Something Hisashi clearly never learned how to do.”

All Kinoshita can do is nod weakly, his eyes still trained on Nishinoya, his lithe body moving between different machines as he prepares a drink. Ennoshita is right - he  _ is  _ pathetic. They’re not even in line yet, still standing near the door they entered from.

“You know what you want, right?” Ennoshita asks near his ear. “Because if you don’t, I’m going ahead and getting my green tea.”

“Don’t let him go ahead,” Narita warns. “Chikara’s gonna tell him you think he’s cute, and then you’re gonna have to deal with the consequences.”

Kinoshita turns to look at his friend, desperate. “Chikara,  _ don’t. _ ”

“He’s like five feet tall. He’s not even intimidating.”

“I think everyone’s intimidating! You know this!”

“Yes,” Ennoshita places a hand on his chest, “and  _ I _ don’t. I’d be doing you a favor.”

“That’s what you always say,” Narita points out, watching the ice cubes float around in his coffee.

“Yeah, and I got you that date with Tendou, so it really was a favor.” Narita sips at his drink and doesn’t say much else, so Ennoshita turns back to Kinoshita, putting two hands on his shoulders and massaging gently. Kinoshita feels like he’s being prepped for a boxing match, like Ennoshita’s going to throw him straight into the ring. “Look. Let’s do things this way. If you don’t say something to him today - anything  _ besides  _ your name and order, I will go up there after you run off and totally expose you.”

“Threats,” Kinoshita squeaks. “Love it.”

“Knew you would.” Ennoshita gives him one last ‘encouraging’ pat on the shoulder before shoving him in the direction of the counter. “Now go get ‘em, champ,” he says, his voice completely monotone.

Kinoshita takes his first few baby steps towards the counter, like everything’s normal, like he hasn’t just been dared to dive straight into the deep end. “Oh, hey!” Nishinoya says once he makes it all the way up, and the  _ recognition  _ in his eyes makes Kinoshita’s head spin. “Hisashi, right?”

He’s already reaching for a marker, Kinoshita realizes, but it’s hard to really pay attention when he’s so busy trying to process that  _ Nishinoya knows his name.  _ It shouldn’t be surprising - he’s probably told him it a dozen times at this point - but it still succeeds in making his heart race. “Uh, y-yeah,” he spits out, his mouth dry. At this rate, he’s going to say even  _ less  _ to him than he usually does. He takes a deep breath, pushing himself to speak once more, “Um, can I get -”

“A grande strawberry frapp?” Nishinoya finishes, stealing the words right out of his mouth. He’s grinning, just a little playfully, and Kinoshita’s sure he’s never wanted to kiss someone so much in his life.

“Y-yes,” he stammers, quickly following it up with the obvious question. “How did you know?” He feels a small burst of pride, because fuck you Ennoshita, he said something to him, it wasn’t that hard!

...Which was probably the point Ennoshita was trying to make in the first place, but still.

“You order the same thing every time,” Nishinoya points out, grabbing a clear cup and scribbling on it with surprising speed. “I caught on eventually.”

“Oh,” he says stupidly, just staring at Nishinoya’s thin fingers as they tighten around the marker. “You must have a really good memory, then.”

Nishinoya lets out a little huff of air - a laugh, Kinoshita realizes belatedly. “Nah. You should see my grades.” He presses a few buttons on the register (Kinoshita hopes it’s enough to distract him from the way he scrambles to get his wallet out). “I just play favorites.” Nishinoya looks up from the register, meeting his eyes for the first time in Kinoshita’s memory, and for a moment, time slows.

“Anyways, that’ll be 400 yen!” That’s all it takes to snap Kinoshita out of his reverie - he digs the money out of his wallet and hands it over, trying not to react when his fingertips brush against Nishinoya’s open palm.

He scampers off to the side as soon as he gets his change, ignoring how Ennoshita walks up to the counter with an approving nod in his direction. He  _ does,  _ however, notice how Nishinoya moves back to start working on a drink, while his co-worker (a mousy blonde girl who looks like the slightest breeze could knock her over) takes over the register. So Ennoshita’s threat was never a reality in the first place. Great.

(Then again, that’s ignoring the possibility that he would have called Nishinoya back over to inform him of Kinoshita’s big fat crush on him. Which sounds exactly like something Ennoshita would do.)

For now, he just sits down at the table Narita secured, breathing out a great big sigh of relief. Narita raises an eyebrow at him as he sits. “Said something to him?”

“It was more like he said things to me and I replied. But Chikara is letting it slide, I think.”

“That’s still more than you’d normally do,” Narita points out, earning him a glare from across the table. “You know it’s true,” he says, chuckling.

“It is…,” he mumbles, feeling like he should just curl up into a ball and hide away if he’s going to be  _ this  _ shy. It’s times like these that he envies hermit crabs.

It doesn’t take long for Ennoshita to return, and of course, he receives his drink before Kinoshita does. It’s to be expected - Kinoshita is familiar with how long a frappuccino takes to make, especially when compared to the simplicity of Ennoshita’s green tea order.

“I’m gonna die,” he’s mumbling, hands half-covering his face. “This boy is going to kill me, you guys. What does that even mean, playing favorites?”

“It means he’s flirting with you,” Ennoshita says, stone-faced. He takes another sip of his tea as Kinoshita gapes at him.

Here’s the thing: it’s hard to deny that Nishinoya is flirting with him when the person informing him is  _ Ennoshita.  _ Because Ennoshita is the kind of guy who boys just  _ hang  _ off of. He’s mastered the art of playing hard to get, learned just how and when to bat his eyes, and he  _ never  _ leaves a party alone. If Ennoshita says someone is flirting, they’re  _ flirting,  _ no doubt about it.

But he doesn’t have any more time to consider it before he hears his name called from the counter. He startles and looks over his shoulder, his eyes easily meeting Nishinoya’s. “Strawberry frapp?” he says, his smile sending shockwaves straight to Kinoshita’s poor heart.

He slowly pulls himself to his feet, dragging himself across the hardwood floors and closer to the boy behind the counter. It’s only once he gets close that he notices the slight tremble in Nishinoya’s smile - and the phone number scribbled onto the cup.

He’s dreaming, right? He has to be. But when he reaches out to grab his drink, Nishinoya’s hand closes in over his, keeping him held down with very little force.

“You should call me sometime,” he says, words all coming out in a rush. He’s leaned in closer now, like they’re keeping a secret. “I mean, only if you want to! But I feel like you do! So you should. Do that, I mean.”

Kinoshita’s sure he must be the very picture of shock right now, and he’s even  _ more  _ sure of that when his first reaction is not to answer Nishinoya, but to turn around and look to his friends for help. He gets very little in return - Narita shrugs helplessly, looking just as confused as Kinoshita feels, while Ennoshita just keeps sipping his drink, only offering him an uncaring peace sign.

He turns back to Nishinoya, feeling a little frustrated (and honestly,  _ motivated)  _ by the complete and utter uselessness of his companions. “S-sure. I will,” he says at last. And while he would have liked to say it without stuttering, he finds he’s glad that he was able to say it at all.

Besides, the look of delight on Nishinoya’s face is all the reward he needs.


End file.
